Thai Carrot Pavé With Cucumber Salad

How do you know that carrots are good for you? Well, have you ever seen a rabbit wearing glasses? If you have, then you may need to have your eyes checked — or eat more carrots! Carrots are high in vitamin A, which is essential for good vision. Often claimed to be 'perfect' health food, carrots are an excellent source of beta-carotene (which also provides the orange pigment), fiber, vitamin K1, potassium, and antioxidants.

While typically sweet, today’s Pavé (French for ‘cobblestone’) paves the way for more savory variations to the spongy dessert. The carrots are roasted, thinly sliced, layered with a spicy carrot sauce, and then baked in a square pan. Servings are to be thickly-cut and served with Thai carrot sauce and a cucumber salad for a striking dish that is bound to make any rabbit hop with envy!

Thai Carrot Pavé With Cucumber Salad

Preheat the oven to 350˚ 

Roast the carrots – Line a 12″x 17″ rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the carrots on the pan and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 1 hour until tender. Let cool to room temperature. Slice thinly on a mandolin about 1/8″ thick.

Make the sauce – In a medium saucepan, heat the 3 cups of the carrot juice with the guajillo chiles, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, shallot, garlic, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Strain the solids and discard and return the juice to the saucepan. 

In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with 3 tbsp of the carrot juice. Whisk ¼ cup of the hot carrot juice with the cornstarch/juice mixture then add to the saucepan. Whisk until thickened. Stir in the Miyoko’s vegan butter and sriracha and whisk until combined. Keep the sauce warm.

Make the pavé – Oil a 9″ x 9″ pan. Cut a piece of wax paper to line the bottom of the pan and oil the paper. Layer the carrot slices in the bottom of the pan, trimming to fit and brush with some carrot sauce. Season every other layer with salt and pepper. Repeat until the carrots have been used and the pan is full.

Cover with foil and bake for 1½ hours. Let rest for 10 minutes then carefully invert onto a cutting board. Peel off the paper. Slice into 9 even pieces. Serve on a plate with the cucumber salad and garnish with cilantro and chopped peanuts. If desired, serve with a little extra carrot sauce. 

serves 6

PAVE

  • 5 lbs of very large carrots, peeled, about 5-7 carrots

CARROT SAUCE

  • 3 cups of carrot juice
  • 2 medium guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeds removed
  • 3 kaffir lime leaves
  • 1 stalk of lemongrass, trimmed to a 6″ length, the dry outside leaf removed and the bottom smashed with a rolling pin
  • 1 small shallot, peeled and cut in chunks
  • 1″ piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into five small pieces
  • 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled
  • ½ tsp Maldon salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 6 tsp cornstarch, mixed with 3 tbsp of carrot juice 
  • 3 tbsp Miyoko’s vegan butter
  • 2 tbsp sriracha

MINTED CUCUMBER SALAD

  • 3 Persian cucumbers, cut in half and sliced into ¼” pieces
  • 2 tbsp agave nectar
  • 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 3 Thai chiles, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp julienned fresh mint

GARNISH

  • 3 tbsp chopped peanuts
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro